By Tony Edike, Enugu
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), yesterday, raised an alarm over what it described as a grand plot to dislodge it from the mandate willingly given to it by the electorate in Imo State in last year’s governorship election.

National chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh told newsmen in Enugu that some strange things had been contrived against the party regarding the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ikedi Ohakim against the APGA candidate, Chief Rochas Okorocha at the Court of Appeal.

Umeh said that APGA had sent a petition to the acting President of the Court of Appeal protesting the inclusion of Justice Chidi Nwaoma Uwa among the five judges to entertain the appeal, but rather than acting on the petition as prayed, a directive came from Abuja that the matter be moved from Owerri to the Federal Capital Territory.

The party maintained in the petition that Justice Uwa is an interested party in the case having “had a long career in Imo State both as a legal practitioner and magistrate.”

“In fact she practiced law in the firm of the then Barr. B. A. Njemanze who later became a judge of the High Court of Imo State and later appointed Chief judge of Imo State by former Governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim who is now an interested party in the present governorship appeal in Imo State,” the party said.

The APGA national chairman said the petition dated December 18, 2011 was served on the Court of Appeal President on the 19th and copied to the affected judge, explaining that  when the panel had its first sitting in Owerri  and adjourned to January 5,  they had hoped that the protest against the inclusion of Justice Uwa would have been treated by the president of the  Court of Appeal.

“But strangely only yesterday, we were told that following a counter protest by Justice Chidi Nwaoma Uwa over alleged threat to her life and security, the sitting of the Court of Appeal that will hear this petition tomorrow (Thursday) has been moved to Abuja.  We view this development as a confirmation that some strange things have been contrived against our party and our candidate in that appeal,” Umeh stated.

Umeh insisted that in the petition to the Court of Appeal president they adduced cogent reasons why Justice Uwa should be dropped in that panel. According to Umeh, “a very well known principle of adjudication is the assurance of neutrality or lack of bias on part of the judicial officers that will preside over a matter before any court in Nigeria. Where there is an iota of doubt in the neutrality of a judge in a matter, the age old practice is that the justice should excuse himself or herself from the matter. It has been done all over the place.”

Umeh said the party could not see the wisdom why a judge out of the five members of the panel could be the reason for relocating the sitting of the Court of Appeal, Owerri which has a Court of Appeal Division of itself.

The APGA chairman queried: “why must she sit on this panel to hear this matter? Particularly as we have raised protest about three weeks ago on the issue. It is obvious that some mischief is by the corner judging by the media blitz sponsored by former Governor Ikedi Ohakim.”

While not questioning the intergrity  of Justice Uwa, the APGA chairman renewed the party’s appeal to the Appeal Court president to remove her from the panel that will hear the appeal, solely because she is an interested party.

“With what is going on, it is clear indication that justice will be compromised in this appeal process. Nigerians should take this matter very seriously.

The governorship election in Imo state in 2011 was fought in the open. Nigerians followed that election and they can attest to the gargantuan momentum with which the people of Imo state came out to vote in APGA and Rochas Okorocha to office with a total and outright rejection of the incumbent governor then,” emphasized Umeh.